ASK Musings

No matter where you go, there you are.

Daily Archive: 31/01/2018

Wednesday

31

January 2018

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31 01 2018 Foyles

Written by , Posted in Bookshops

Foyles. Ah, Foyles. I’ve heard of this shop, but never actually been, at least not that I can recall. How I’ve never been here is a bit of a mystery. I guess because I hadn’t jumped back into my love of books last time I lived here, but damn. I’ve been missing out.

Although it is not nearly as large, something about this shop reminds me of Powell’s in Portland, Oregon. Maybe it’s how bright it is, or how it feels labyrinthine (even though the layout is pretty straightforward). Or perhaps its because I know I could spend days in this shop and leave with my arms full of all the books.

I mean, how perfect is this?

*sigh*

I need to get back home relatively quickly, so I don’t spent as much time here as I want. As is usually the case, I spend most of my time in the non-fiction section and finally pick up a book that’s been catching my eye for a year or so.

Who knows if this will be helpful. But I’m here in London, with no job, and the opportunity to figure out what it is I actually want to do with my professional life. Do I want to write? What does that look like? Or do I need a job in an office with a regular schedule? Is there something that involves both?

Maybe I can find a job that will allow me to prevent people from loudly speaking on mobile phones in cafes and buses (PLEASE SHUT UP, LADY SITTING NEXT TO ME IN THE CAFE).

I doubt this book is going to be what makes me finally figure it all out, but who knows. It might help.

Wednesday

31

January 2018

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31 01 2018 Watkins Books and Others

Written by , Posted in Bookshops

There is a street called Cecil Court, near Charing Cross, just a short walk from the National Portrait gallery, where you can find some interesting books. It’s a street you can’t drive down, at least I don’t think you can, so it’s perfect for window shopping. I count about five bookshops, although there could be more, and I only end up visiting one.

Most of the bookshops seem focused on rare and antique books. One specifically specializes in children’s books, and has some original e.e. milne drawings of Winnie the Pooh available for purchase.

While I love books, I’m not much of a collector (although I should check to see if they have any old etiquette books), so I always feel a bit odd going into these rare book shops. I don’t want to be in the way, I’m probably not going to buy anything, and I fear I’ll manage to knock over a stack or two.

Instead, I visit Watkins. Watkins bills itself as an “esoteric” bookshop. I assume that means it will have a lot of philosophy and other high-minded books. Clearly I don’t know what words mean, because in reality this is essentially a spirituality and occult books shop.

You may or may not be shocked to learn that during and just after college I went through a pagan phase. I was looking for some spirituality and a way to connect to nature, and that seemed to work for me. In the end I ended up back in my atheist / agnostic space, venturing occasionally into the Buddhist realm with my readings.

This shop would have been 21-year-old me’s favorite place to go. It features a man in the corner doing tarot readings. It has many different sections, some obviously targeting people who are easily led astray (ahem The Secret ahem), but I think if I were to return and visit the downstairs area I might be able to find something related to meditation that could be of interest.

In the end, I won’t be likely to return, but it’s cool that this bookshop is here for folks who might benefit from it.

Wednesday

31

January 2018

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COMMENTS

What Happened by Hillary Rodham Clinton

Written by , Posted in Reviews

Five Stars

Best for: Anyone who is a fan of Secretary Clinton; anyone who isn’t a fan of Secretary Clinton; anyone interested in learning more about how we can prevent something like Trump from happening again.

In a nutshell: First major-party woman nominee for President of the US loses to an ignorant charlatan and seeks to figure out why.

Worth quoting:
“Throughout the 2016 campaign, my staff would come to me wide-eyed. ‘You’ll never believe what Trump said today. It was vile.’ I always believed it. Not just because of who Trump is but because of who we can be at our worst. We’ve seen it too many times to be surprised.”
“Something I wish every man across America understood is how much fear accompanies women throughout our lives.”
“I’ve always believed that it’s dangerous to make big promises if you have no idea how you’re going to keep them. When you don’t deliver, it will make people even more cynical about government.”
“Many in the press and political chattering class marveled at how Teflon-coated Trump seemed to be, ignoring their own role in making him so.”

Why I chose it: I voted for Secretary Clinton, both in the primary in my state (which didn’t count, because Washington uses the horribly inaccessible caucus system) and in the general election. I was heartbroken when she lost. I bought this book the week it came out, but could only bring myself to start reading it this year.

Review: I think this book is mostly perfect for what it is. It’s a post-mortem but it’s also a celebration. It’s a glimpse into what we are missing out on because of 40,000 votes in three states, because the fear in the hearts of some outweighed the optimism in the hearts of others.

Secretary Clinton starts with Trump’s inauguration and then jumps back to deciding to run again after losing the primary to President Obama in 2008. She takes the reader through her decision-making process, and from there jumps from topic to topic, looking at what it means to be a woman in politics, what it means to be HER in politics.

She also doesn’t hold back when talking about her perceptions of how she was treated as compared to the men she ran against – first to Sen. Sanders and then to Trump. And I will say I have to agree with how Sen. Sanders seemed to be allowed to just say whatever and was fawned over, while Secretary Clinton would offer a more realistic version and be slammed for it. It was so frustrating. I also appreciated her discussion of gun violence and the stark difference between her position and Sen. Sanders.

The part that is most frustrating to read, however, is how she was treated by and in relation to Trump. She spends an entire chapter on the emails / private server issue, and frankly I wish everyone were required to read it before offering an opinion on the topic. And she gets into very specific detail about why, in the end, she ultimately lost.

I saw other reviewers in the media suggest she doesn’t take responsibility for her loss, but that’s not right. She takes responsibility for the part she should, such as not recognizing fully how much fear and anger were the focus of some people (and rightfully so). But she then appropriately points out how voter suppression, the Russian influence on social media, and the Comey letter less than two weeks before the election really did have a measurable impact. It’s frustrating and made me want to throw things more than once.

One area that she doesn’t talk about as much in the ‘why’ section is misogyny. She definitely devotes time to it throughout, but I do think that there were plenty of people who perhaps stayed home because they couldn’t bring themselves to vote for a woman. They might not recognize that consciously, but it’s there.

The book didn’t leave me despondent, although I was angry when I finished it. It, for me, was just another reminder of how much work we all have to do to keep the current president from causing more damage than he already has.